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Always Watching: Universal tracking to find absconders means you, too, are followed

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- No one said paying bills was easy. 

But when debtors disappear, there are means of finding them -- but in the process, your locations are also stored on file.

"We like to say, we can pull in more information about you than you even know about yourself," says Andrew Scott, CEO and Owner of Trailfinder, Inc., based in Colorado Springs. 

Trailfinder is a process-serving and private investigation agency that uses several methods of tracking down people who've skipped town -- disappeared -- without paying their dues.  One of those methods is called Skip Tracing. 

A process server tries to deliver documents to a person of interest

It's no simple Google search, or $19.95 "Finder of People" website that pulls antiquated information. This specialized software costs upwards of $1,500 per month and pulls credit headers that include information such as current addresses on utility bills, social security numbers, and information on credit applications.  It scrapes information from the Department of Motor Vehicles, marriage and divorce records, and home purchases.

So, why is Skip Tracing necessary? 

Perhaps one ex-spouse is failing to pay alimony or child support, or lying to the courts to gain custody time, or is misrepresenting where they work and how much they make: that's where Scott comes in, to do a little digging.

"Persons can easily represent to the court that they don't work, or they work less, or that they're medically incapable of working. In these types of cases, we can go out and do surveillance and we can ascertain whether they truly are medically capable of working if they are working, how much they're working," says Scott.

But, what if you're doing everything right -- paying up on all of your dues? 

You're still being tracked -- but, not always searched.  And, how you're tracked might surprise you.

Scott explains that not only is our digital fingerprint traceable, but so is our facial recognition.

Tiny cameras -- not the bubble security cameras we're accustomed to seeing -- log when we walk into and out of stores.  That information is then stored within the database belonging to the camera maker.  They're becoming more common at big-box stores and fast-food restaurants. 

Also traceable, are the GPS locations of your parked car -- accessible to Skip Tracers. The information is gathered via repo trucks and law enforcement license plate readers.  Information is all stored in a database as well.

"If you regularly shop at Walmart, you live in this area, we would then know what your religion is, and we could find you every Sunday at that church, we might know what business you work at," says Scott.

Can Skip Tracers search just anyone?

The capacity is there, but it's not kosher, according to Scott.

"We are not allowed to use these softwares for just curiosity."

Each company behind the skip tracer software conducts an audit, that asks investigators why they searched.  But, as of now, there is no government oversight to add another layer to that protection.

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Heather Skold

Heather is the evening anchor for KRDO. Learn more about Heather here.

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